Voices
by kitax13
Summary: KHI OOFC Rated T for language- I'm going to revamp this so that the character isn't as MarySueish
1. Ch1 Rally the Troops

**Rally the Troops**

**(1)**

"Front and center!" I yelled to my troops. A whistle was blown and my men fell into line. They stared ahead, not daring to look me in the eyes. They felt the same thing I did when I looked into my superior's eyes. "Now," I continued after a few moments of silence to make them feel uncomfortable. "I want every one of you skinny pieces of paper to run five laps around the camp before turning in for the night." A few sighs and groans where heard from the ranks. I could tell who they fell out of in a second, but for their sake I continued. "Do you want me to make that ten?" I questioned, hardening my eyes on one of the weaker men. They avoided my gaze but could, no doubt, feel it burrowing into them. A whistle was blown again and they marched out of the tent, beginning their first lap. I watched as they thin lines, that were my troops, passed the tent and went on their way. I crossed my arms and turned to the board behind me. The black slid away to reveal a secret screen hidden underneath.

"You have done well, Sergeant." said the plump woman, now sitting in front of me on the screen. She dressed in all black and red and had her fair pulled back into a tight bun. I knelt and said not a word. "I suspect my troops shall be ready for the ambush?" she formed her order into a question and waited for a response.

"Yes, your majesty." I relied, standing up. I stared ahead as my men had seconds ago. "Your troops will be ready with in the week." I continued. The lady's mouth went thin; her bright red lipstick turned a slight pinkish color. I clenched my jaw for what was coming.

"A week. A week?" repeated, with murder on her tongue. "You've had plenty of time. What do you think you're here for; Lollygagging? No, I took you off the streets, from that horrible family, to command my troops!" the spade, branded on my arm, twitched as she continued. "You better have my troops ready in three days or you'll find your self headless or if I'm feeling generous, eating out of a garbage can. again!" She laughed at her own joke as the screen went black. I laughed as well, but only for the fear of not.

Everyone obeyed the Queen of Hearts. Everyone listened to what she said, and everyone laughed at her jokes.

**(2)**

Minutes later and my men entered the tent again. I greeted them with a smile, though not a fair one. "Tomorrow, we will be going into over-time." I spoke coolly. ", or it's off with all of your heads. The queen is in need of me and she needs them in three days." I paused. I was already working them hard enough to break. "I know that many of you have family on the white side, but that is no excuse for the way you are lollygagging now." I tried to keep my self from using too many of the Queen's words. Their pain was mine and so was their success. I turned away from them and my smile faded. "Tell your wives and children that you will be coming home late tomorrow." There where noticeable sighs and whispers. ", and don't think about skipping out on me. There will be hourly checks."

The men left, groaning from how I pushed them today. I held back from any tears escaping my eyes. This war was too relevant to the one I had read about as a child. Taking place between many men; most of them brothers. The spade on my arm twitched again and I smiled grimly. What did I care? I have no family to fight. Not anymore.

After a while, I settled into bed, hoping that tomorrow would be as painless as possible for both my troops, and for me.

**(3)**

I tossed and turned in my sleep that night. "Couldn't you have done any better?" yelled the queen as she ran towards me with a large bloody axe in her hands. I tried to run, but the long blue dress, like sea water, tripped me up. I fell, landing in the closest pile of snow. Unfortunately, this was not the weirdest or scariest dreams I have ever had. I tried to stand but the water pulled me under again. I fell to my knees in front of the Queen.

"That's right, it's only a dream." I thought to myself as she pulled her axe into the air.

"Yeah, a nightmare!" The Queen yelled in almost happiness, as she was ready to bring down her axe on me. _It's only a dream. It's only a dream._ Everything disappeared into the darkness as I opened my eyes. I sat up straight on the floor. Silence filled the room, unlike most nights, as well as the cold night air.


	2. Ch2 Drowning Letters

**Drowning Letters**

**(1)**

Little did I know, there was a girl. The same age as me. Just as scared as me. Braver than me.

She dropped the jar of scream-nut-butter into her backpack, along with a package of Goreos and a can of Dr. Pumpkin. She hummed lightly as she slung the bag over her shoulder. She grabbed a piece of parchment from the counter and scribbled a note, leaving it with the purring cat on the kitchen table.

_Mom and Dad,_

_I feel That I am in need of a change of pace. Please don't look for me. I need to be forgotten. I've taken enough food for a while and after that I can take care of myself. Do not worry, I'll be fine._

_I love you both, Rio_

If only she could tell them, but she knew that she couldn't. Especially with that information. They would worry too much. Knowing her father, he would rush to Oogie-Boogie's house and do anything possible to find her. Though he wouldn't know. No one knew she was leaving. She kissed her front door and walked down the long stairs to guillotine square. Her humming growing louder; words forming a song. The song of the Memory Keeper.

The girl walked slowly to the gate of her town and sighed. She thought of all of the beautiful memories intrusted to her. She would miss them; everyone. She ran her hand over a light pole and looked down.

"I'll miss you-" she said before being cut off by a cackling noise behind her. She would know that laugh anywhere and she cringed. She turned quickly to see Oogie walking up behind her.

"Even me?" he questioned with an evil smile spread across his face. "Yah shouldn't do anything you'll regret Suga-pie. Yah never know what might happen if I don' gett'a bride!" This made a scowl grow on her face. Not only the alliteration, but the obvious threat to the people she loved.

"It's pronounced 'sugER', not 'sugAH'" she spat at him. His eyes narrowed. "Leave me in peace, Oogie, I'll never marry you and you'll never get those memories! Not even if you where the only living creature on this planet." She turned to walk away. She couldn't imagine what he wanted with them, but she knew it couldn't be good. Ash she began to walk he grabbed her wrist with extreme strength.

"Nobody leaves Oogie-Boogie hangin'!" he said with a menacing smile. He pulled a pair of dice out from behind his back. She cringed with fear. Many a time had she been over taken by this method. She guessed that Oogie had figured he should just skip to the part where she surrendered. She wasn't going to let that happen so easily. She ripped her wrist away and kicked him in the spot that would cripple anyone. The shock from the hit made the dice fly backward out of his hand. Upon impact they exploded and that was what made him fall to the ground. This gave her just enough time to put space between her and the mad bag of bugs behind her. She was like a cat, reflexive and quick, flexible like her mother. Taking sharp corners and short sprints through the alley way that was fabled to bring people to other worlds.

"I will miss you." she continued her earlier thought, turning her head back for a second. She turned back and ran straight into a light pole in the middle of the street. She saw the colors slowly turn gray tinted and then they completely disappeared. The last thing that went through her head repeated it's self over and over again. "I will miss you." she said as the black in the world turned darker.


	3. Ch3 Curling Darkness

**Curling Darkness**

**(1)**

"I'm innocent!" I yelled bolting straight up in the dark of what seemed like night. The darkness seemed to curl itself around my legs arms and body, masquerading as a cool, feathery, touch from a loved one. Not until a second later did I notice I was in the company of not only the darkness.

"S.P.D." said a voice from the shadows. A girl's voice, not much older that me, I wagered. When she walked closer, I could see her face and details of her attire. Her hair was bright red, like fire. She wore a light gray cropped, sweat shirt over a gray tank top, beige shorts , and what looked like one stocking on her left leg. On her face she wore a grin that unsettled me to no end.

"Excuse me?" I asked, standing up from the cold ground that I found was not my bed. The girl just smiled and laughed at this. Her laugh was beautiful, like black velvet. You could hear the crudeness in her tone. She took another step towards where I sat on the cold colorful ground. I was sure I was not in my tent nor in my rank's. The girl now stood three steps from me.

"It means Sleep Panic Disorder." She said in her sweet voice. "what ever you dreamed last... literally come right out of your mouth." I tried to remember what ever I was dreaming of. I concluded it must have been bad. She smiled again; curling her lips like the darkness around us. I smiled slightly with her. This girl had the same ere about her that the Queen of Hearts did. She wasn't one to be trifled with. She laughed again, making me pull my hand back to my side I looked around at what could have only been walls surrounding us.

"Is-" I caught my self breathing heavily, "is there any way out?" I asked still looking at the walls. They were so dark, like there wasn't even walls, just darkness. I wondered if there was even enough air in the room for both of us. She laughed again only louder and more free, as if I had just told a joke. I looked towards her and she stared back.

"Silly, there is no way out. You're stuck here with me." Her smile grew larger as she pulled a knife from her back. I closed my eyes and screamed almost as loud as my battle cry. I had to have been dreaming still, and just because the first dream didn't kill me, didn't mean this maniac wouldn't.

**(2)**

My scream echoed off the walls and shattered into a million pieces. After that though there was nothing. No noise, no footsteps from the girl. Had she killed me with out my noticing? I cracked my eyes open to see a grin spread over the girl's face. She pulled the knife in front of her and held the blade between her thumb and forefinger. There was a flash of light and the knife was gone. I widened my eyes as she started laughing a more comfortable laugh. For her as well as me. She bent over and laughed so hard it confused me. I stood back up and leaned against the wall, still wary of this clearly unstable girl. I searched my brain for the appropriate expression for this moment. I raised an eyebrow in confusion with as close to a frown as I could get. She laughed so hard that she snorted and that stopped her there. She looked up at me and began to speak.

"I totally got you." She laughed again. "Don't worry It's not like I'm gonna kill you." looking around, she walked to the closest wall and leaned on it. "I just woke up maybe five minuted before you. though that's just a guess; My watch stopped working apparently." she looked down at her wrist and tapped her skinny wrist watch. She sat down Indian style and continued in a more serious sense. "Though, I was serious about the wall thing. There really isn't a way out." She grinned a broken grin.

We sat opposite each other for a while before the silence got to me. This girl obviously wasn't going to try to kill me again, at least until I got to bed. I decided I might as well start up a conversation. I pulled my knees up to my chest and began with the basics.

"My name's S-" I stopped. Spade wasn't my name it was my title. She looked at me questioningly. I started again. "My name's Soku. What's yours?" She smiled her broken smile.

"The name's Rio. Nice to meet you, Soku." She responded. It had been a while since anyone had called me this so it felt good, I guess. "I like your hair." She continued. "It doesn't look natural, Is it?" I raised my eyebrow again.

"Is yours?" I asked in a mocking tone. I was pretty sure that she would drop the topic. She didn't.

"yeah, actually. It is; just like my mom's" She said with a fond but mocking smile. I grinned and nodded my head.

"Then, yes, it is." I paused. Actually my hair has always been blue like this. I don't even have any idea why either." I laughed slightly and she gave me a sad smile. "Never really knew my parents, and my brothers have brown hair so." She stood up, with a smile, relieving me of my past.

"Want to see if we can touch the ceiling?" she said kneeling and making a net with her hands. It was obvious what she wanted. I smiled and walked over to where she knelt. I still didn't trust this strange girl completely but she was probably on of my only hopes of escaping this strange prison. When I think of all of the things we talked about, I don't know how we became so close. It was nothing personal, but just things to know. Her name was Rio, her favorite color was orange, and she, for no reason what so ever, loved the number eighty-six. I had revealed that I was 5'8, my favorite color was was dark blue (the same color as my hair) and I loved sad music and rainy days.

Stepping on her hands I steadily pulled myself up straight. I reached my hands as high as I could but the ceiling must have been at least a few feet higher. I didn't even see the shadow cast form the glowing floor. Though with that little light, there would be no shadows. I sighed and motioned for her to lower me to the ground.

**(3)**

Laying on the ground I stared above me and thought of home. No matter how I thought about it, I was still better off in this room than back in my tent. The queen was most likely going to lop off my head in the morning anyway. Rio lay next to me her arms behind her head in a comfortable position. She sighed and sat up, her spiky hair falling to her shoulders. She pushed her frizz out of the front of her face.

"I have got to get out of here," She said, "or I swear I'll go even more crazy." she stood up and started to pace. She walked to the wall and kicked the wall. It actually kind of scared me when she banged her head against the wall and fell to her knees. My first reaction was to comfort her, the second was to scream. There was no, a giant, yellow, crack of light sprawled across the wall. Was- was it a way out? I ran to Rio as she seemed in pain.

"Rio, you just-" I started.

"yeah, I know," she cut me off, "I lost my temper. Sorry."

"No, Rio," I continued, "You might have just saved us!" I yelled, embracing her. She pulled her head up and stared at the crack of light on the non-existent wall. Her jaw dropped as a piece of black clattered to the floor and shattered into microscopic atoms.

"Holy- " She said, her response to the shattering sound in front of her. All of the wall fell to the ground, sounding a chorus of breaking glass. The black was replaced but only by more black. As if nothing had ever happened. I moved my hand forward towards the wall and there was nothing in my way. It was just air. A cool breeze flew through my hair and blinded my eyes for a second. I closed them and rubbed the chill from under my eyelids, like a cold winter day on the streets.

Opening my eyes, before me was a stained glass wonder. Stairs formed of every colored glass curled above me and Rio, leading to no where. I stood and grazed my finger tips over the floating colors and shivered as cold traveled through my body. I turned my head to Rio and she smiled her broken grin. I helped her up and we took our first step up together.


	4. Ch4 Following Voices

**Following Voices**

**(1)**

"But Ry' I'm hungry." Said a little girl, her dark blue hair down to her hips. she stood in front of me, tugging on her older brothers sleeve, complaining about her hunger. This was a normality for her I remembered. Sometimes they would go without food for as long as 3 to 4 days, surviving only on the combined money her brothers Rale and jai could scrounge from odd jobs around town.

"oh, just hold on kiddo," said the older brother she called Ry. He ruffled her hair and laughed as she frantically smoothed it to the ends. "j. will be back from the docks soon and then we can go down to the market and pick up some bread for this week." A thin sheet covering a hole in the wall was pulled back to show the little girl's other older brother. He was taller than Rale by 5 inches at the least. He was able to handle hard work at the docks involving the ropes and heavy lifting.

"who wants food!" J. yelled running over to the girl. He picked her up and spun in circles. You could probably hear her high pitched giggles through out the court yards and even in the queen's castle. I walked around the room, it was so familiar, though I hadn't seen it since… well, since The queen took my brothers away from me for the war. I looked back to the happy scene and there was a crash.

"Are you okay?" Rale asked frantically holding up the girl's head. "honey, honey, can you tell me your name?" That last voice came from behind me. I looked back and the voice changed, I was covered in darkness again. The voice was higher pitched and it was inciting, so I followed it. I didn't know what it was but there was some kind of- light I guess I'd call it. The louder the voice became the brighter the light became. It was a doorway, _That's right. _I remembered. _I was just standing at a doorway._

"Are you okay? Hello? Hello? Can you tell me your name?" came the voice. I wondered what would happen… if I… followed a little farther.


	5. Ch5 Nightmares

**Nightmares**

**(1)**

"Is she OK?" came a voice from behind the door. Not the same one as before. My body grew cold like a wave of cold air covered and then released me. I shivered, still looking at the door. I could see light pouring through the crack under the door, but there was no door knob. I stared at it questioningly and listened to the voices.

"I don't know," responded another voice; a slightly higher pitched tenor voice. The first one I heard. "I just found her here in the sand, half drowned. I gave her CPR to get her breathing again." There was a pause and I felt a tug at my shoulder. "The other one's still not waking up either. They might seriously need medical attention." There was another pause and I could have sworn I heard a knock at the door. The sound seemed to resonate against the nothingness and echo for miles.

"Well, we're going to have to bring them to the clinic, but the doctor is out on a house call and won't be back for a few days." came the deeper voice again. There where scraping noises, like foot steps in sand, and the door creaked open , covering me in light. I closed my eyes from the light but I still felt my body slip as I was pulled through the door. It was slow and subtle, but I began to be warmed by another human's touch. My eyes fluttered open to the upside down sight of sand and crashing waves. The land became closer and father away with ever step of the person carrying me. The sounds of birds filled my ears and my hair was blown from my face.

"Hey," came one of the voices from behind the door, now softer. I looked up and smiled weakly. The boy smiled back and his arms tensed around me.

"Hi," I responded breathlessly. He smiled, relieved. And my head grew light. My eyes closed again and I rested my head on his chest, his foot steps growing lighter and lighter until they disappeared completely.

**(2)**

In what felt like a matter of seconds, my ears where filled with a beeping sound. My eyes opened and took in the scenery of a small white room. I lifted my head from it's lumpy pedestal and looked around. To my right was a window where I could see nothing but sea. When I looked to the left of the room, there was another girl in a bed, only her heart beat seemed just a hair faster. And to the front was the boy. His brunette hair spiked up then drooped at the tips, giving him the look of a lion with a droopy mane. I brought my attention back to the girl in the bed. It was Rio, but I just couldn't remember how I knew that. All of her face was calm but one aspect, her mouth. It grinned a broken smile. It almost made her seem in pain.

"Oh, hey. You're awake." came a familiar voice form the front of the room. I looked up to see the boy with the brown hair looking at me and smiling. He sat up straight and put his hands behind his head. "well, that's one less thing to worry about." I must have looked frantic, my eyes wide from shock. I was in the hospital. I couldn't remember my name, where I lived, or even if I knew the person in front of me. All I could remember was the name of my sleeping room mate.

"Hey!" the boy half yelled out the door of the depressing room. "The first one's awake! The blue haired one!" I hadn't even noticed that he stood up until he yelled that. I also hadn't noticed that his eyes yet. They where... beautiful, the color of the ocean. Almost like my mine, but brighter. My face was hot. I figured I was moving too much. I leaned against the wall as the boy walked over to my bed. He took another step forward and I scooted as far back as possible. He laughed, his smile was beautiful as well.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you." he said. I settled myself. For some reason I decided to trust this boy. He seemed, familiar. He bent down and placed his hand on my forehead and frowned. "you're bright red and you're burning up. We should get the doctor here as soon as possible." I am sure that this is not going to end well.


	6. Ch6 Names With Faces

**Name With Faces**

**(1)**

"Well, then..." came a sly girl's voice from my right. I froze and realized the position I was in and how it might have looked from an outsider's view. This boy standing over me, my face as red as a tomato "Am I interrupting something here?" came Rio's voice again. I turned my head in her direction. She sat with her knees pulled up to her chest; her face in her hands.

"Oh!" came the boy's voice from where I had just turned from. Before I could look over, his hand was off of my forehead and he was two steps away from the door. His smile seemed to say that he was completely oblivious to the situation he was just in.

Hey!" He yelled out the door and into the hallway, "They both just woke up, right around the same time!" He leaned against the door frame and I shrunk farther under my sheets and blankets. "Did you call the doctor yet?" he continued and I looked over to Rio. She snickered at the obvious awkwardness I felt. "He's on his way? OK-" He turned around towards me and Rio. His smile was goofy and showed most of his teeth. He looked tired and relieved. I wondered how long he had been sitting at our bedsides.

**(2)**

" Nothing? You don't remember anything?" questioned Rio sitting in the arm chair across from me. I held up my finger in protest. ",other than _my _name." she continued her prior statement with slight annoyance in her tone. I replaced my hand on the arm of the chair and shrugged. I had no idea who I was. Everything was a blank to me.

Isn't it called amnesia? Questioned one of the boys completing our circle of chairs in the middle of the room. He was the on e who had first caught sight of Rio and I floating on the shore of the island. He had brown, spiky hair and brilliant blue eyes.

yeah," said the other boy on my other side. "I think that that's what the doctor said." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. His silver hair fell beside his teal eyes and his arms rippled with muscles, unlike the other boy. A short girl stood next to his chair, her hands on her hips. She wasn't frowning or anything but she definitely wasn't smiling; like she was trying to figure something out and she was getting slightly frustrated. The girl's hair was a dark pinkish red, her eyes a cold dark blue. I avoided her gaze more than the others and looked to Rio for consolidation. Rio smiled her broken grin.

Well," she said, "I know your name." At first every hair on the back of my neck stood up. Someone knew my name. Someone knew who I was. There must have been a reason I knew nothing but of her. She smiled and started humming to herself while the whole circle waiting on the edge of their seats. We waited for her to continue. The thing is, she didn't.

Well?" I asked, inching closer to her, over my arm rest. She stopped humming and snickered slightly under her breath.

Well, What?" she asked with face innocence. She batted her abnormally long eyelashes my way, knowing exactly what I wanted to know. You could tell by the look on her face. I glared at her, annoyed. She wanted me to ask. I opened my mouth to speak and-

Well, what's her name?" blurted the red haired girl; this being the first thing I had ever heard her say. Her voice, I have to admit, matched her body perfectly It was high pitched and giggly- Maybe more than it needed to be. That thought made me smile to myself. The girl's face calmed and she was no longer confused looking. Now it looked as if she had held her breath for a long time and then finally let it out. Rio snickered again and started picking at her short nails.

Isn't it," she retorted, "a little rude to not give your own name before asking for someone else's?" The girl opened her mouth to argue but found no response in her head. Instead the brunette spoke up.

Heh, sorry," he said, "I'm Sora." He gestured to himself then to his friends. "That's Riku, and that's Kairi." Riku, who was the taller, silver headed guy, swooped his hand around in a wave at the mention of his name. Kairi nodded at hers.

Nice to meet you," said Rio, crossing her legs under her on the chair. "and this," she continued, gesturing towards me, "is Soku." I looked up at her and she nodded, reassuring me. I sighed in relief. Soku sounded familiar. Was it the name I had been given? I had no idea, but it was the name I was accustom to hearing. _My name is Soku. _I thought looking around at everyone. I waved my hand in a salute to everyone in the circle. I was welcomed with more gracious smiles.


	7. Chapter 7

(1)

"Ok, can you please just shut it?" Rio growled. she grabbed at her hair and pulled it, hard. I giggled to myself and pulled my thumb and forefinger across my closed lips. she smiled and layed back onto her makesift bed in Kairi's old room in her house.

Rio's problem was my humming/singing. It comforted me, so what? I htink she was just jealous because she kind of sucked. I sang in my head the tune swaying between my ears. Tomorow was going to be the day we help Sora, Riki, and Kairi pick up supplies for their world voyage. That is, they're going to go to another world.

"I wonder if they'll let Rio and I go with them..." driffted my mind as i was lulled to sleep by the crashing waves outsid the window.

(2)

"... a rope?" I questioned, placing my hands on my hips. "Thats all i have to get?" Kairi sighed and rolled her eyes. she had to collect a seagul egg and eight coconuts. In my oppinion that was the hardest job. Sora thought for a moment and responded to my quipping.

"You're right," he said "you help Kairi get the seagul egg and i'll get the rope." I stared at him in dissbelief and shook my head lightly. That was not what i meant. I mimicked Kairi's earlier movements while she formed a triumphant smile.

"Completely oblivious" I said under my breath. I hiked my new pullstring, canvas bag over my shoulder. "I'll be leaving." I said loudly. I pushed open the shack door and strolled across the beach, leaving everyone else in scilence.

"It's been a couple days" I said to myself speaking, of course, of the days Rio and I had already spent on the island. I'd pretty much figured ou the layour of the main beach area. "The closest hting for me to her..." i said staring in to nothing. "would be the seagul egg. My body turned and i looked at the bridge connection the main island to a smaller one, big enough to hold maby a small house.

"Let's see" I said plotting my rout. "I could walk back into the shack and take the stairs up to the bridge. that seems to be easiest but i'd feel really" I didnt want to say the word. embarrassed. I thought. "Ooooooor..." I continued outloud. "I could climb up on top of te shak and get there without consequences." Yeah, I think I'll go with that one. I thought again.

Walking to the side of the small waterfall, I stood neer the short side of the shack. I jumped straight up for the measure. Perfect! My arms would just catch. I pulled backward and took a running start at the wall. right before hitting the wall i jumped with all of my might. i scrambled for the roof with my arms, just barely sticking to the edge. I sighed and kicked my way ontop of the roof, kind of like swimming in mid air. YES! I remember thinking, although I totally had just made a loud hollow, tin noise against the inside of the shack; I decided that they probably didnt hear it. Now, I'm sure that they did.

"Seagul egg, Seagul egg." I repeated over and over pacing around the tall palm tree. it was skinnier than the trees with coconuts but so much more sturdy. across from the skinny tree was on coconut three. In the sand was burried a wooden sword, probably discarded because of it's broken and splintered handle. I thought for a momen and grabbedthe sword. I shoved it through my belt loop and walked to the skinny tree. with a kick to its grey/tan bark the seagul egg wriggled in it's perch and continued it calm before state.

I looked from the tall tree to the coconut tree. a sigh escaped me and i rubbed my eye in annoyance at my self. mu feet caught on the bark of the tall tree as i shimmied up the trunk. i ooked behind me and climed a few more feet.

"OK and-" I jumped/pushed agains the bark of the tall tree. The sturdy branches ofthe coconut tree caught my weight. "Now al i have to do -" I stood again, ontop of the tree and jumped to the taller tree.

"Oh Frick-!" I yelled almost falling backward; my arms flaled and caught my weight. the egg teetered again, because of my comotion, and i could sence the seagul bird circling not faraway. I grabbed the egg and the seagul dived for me. Rollingoff the tree i hit the ground running and jumped off the ledge of the bridge land. The water caught my fall beautifully and i ran to the inside of the shack.

(3)

The sunset was beautiful that night. Sora and Riku sat on the bent limb of the paupu tree while Kairi kicked rocks off of the ledge of the island. by the time Rio and i got to the bridge and made our way across, they where talking about something i couldn't make out.

"What are we talking about?" Rio asked, jumping over the branch. perched herself between Riku and Sora. _We? _I thought, with a smirk. That left me with either Riku's left side or Sora, since Kairi didnt think too highly of me. I thought for a second and started walking towards Riku when Rio waved me over. "Sit over here!" she said loudly, pointing to the spot next to Sora. I looked at her and asked her with my eyes if she thought I was stupid. she responded with a grin and her ignoring my face. I flashed her a cheesy fake smile and walked over to Sora. He offered me his hand and i looked at it for a moment. _It would be weird if I didn't accept... right? _ I thought, taking his hand and his hospitality.

"So tomorow's the big day." I asked unintentionally sadly. _Fuck_ I thought, grimmacing at my own voice. Sora looked over at me with confused and concerned eyes.

"What's up?" he asked; concerned. _Dubble Fuck_. I thought. the hair on my left arm pricked up as Sora leaned in closer. It was cold out but that wasn't why i had goose-bumps. I took this into consideration and leaned away from Sora.

"Nothing I'm just..." I paused "cold." I continued and smiled uneasily. No one said anything, wiating for me to continue. "and a little sad..." I continued. "That's all." That was the truth, I was sad. I had never gotten the time to ask if Rio and I could go with them on the raft; to the new world. I was going... to miss them.

"Well..." Sora said in a soft toned voice. I could tell he was thinking. "You'll feel better when we set sail tomorow!" he said cheerily trying to pass his joyousness to me. He wasn't doing too good a job. I sighed and leaned closer to the tree. I did not want to be close to him.

"Yeah, I'll hold my breath." I said. The image of my three new friends popped into my mind. They where on the raft with their supplies, leaving Rio and I, Alone. "We'll miss you guys." I muttered so they could just barely hear me. Sora raised his head and looked at me and then Rio. Rio snickered and acted distracted by her nails.

"Did Rio not ask you?" was Sora's responce. H narrowed his eyes at Rio and continued. his thoughts "We want you to come with us." Riku and Kairi looked at Sora with shocked expressions. Sora looked at both of them. "She didn't tell you either?" Sora asked. He looked back at Rio and she whistled innocently. Kairi was opposed to this.

"I dont know if that-" she said before she was interupted by Riku.

"That sounds like a great idea!" He said swinging his feet from side to side. Rio smiled and swung her feet in rythm with his. Sora looked at them both and began to swing his feet with them. I couln't hold it in anymore. I wasnt sad, I was happy. My eyes teared up and I leaned againstr the tree, my legs pulled up to my chest.

"Yeah..." I said. "Great Idea..."


	8. Chapter 8

(1)

"It's hard to hid my excitement!" I exclaimed hugging my bag. I fell onto my bed next to Rio and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," she said in mono-tone. "me too." she showed me the thumbs up sign and this time I rolled my eyes. I pushed her over the edge of the bed and she growled at me.

"Oh, you know you are!" I yelled, throwing my pillow at her face. It hit her in the stomach. she grinned and jumped back and onto the bed. she threw the pillow back at me; she had better aim.

"Yeah, I know." she said falling onto her back. I stood up and she got under her covers. I followed suit. "Sleep time."

(2)

The sea's calm was interrupted by the rippled that my fingers left. the raft was ready and willing.

"Ready?" asked Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Rio at the same time. I looked up and they smiled at me... creepily.

"Y-yeah" I said hesitantly walking towards the raft. The water was cold, even thought I'd been in it for... I couldn't remember how long. First step onto the raft and thunder boomed in my ear; lightning striked 10 feel away from the raft's main sail.

"Holy crap!" I screamed falling over onto the raft. The group behind me didn't even flinch. "What is wrong with you people?" I yelled again. They just smiled at me "Did you not see tha-" I started but was interrupted as the crack of lightning filled the air. Light engulfed me and my body went cold.

(3)

"That?" I yelled sitting up in my bed. Thunder roared outside my window. Lightning struck at the smaller islands. There was no sound other than the thunder. "Wow, i wonder how she ca-" I started to say turning to face Rio's bed. Her pillow lay on the floor and her sheets where pushed to the end of the mattress. The only thing missing was Rio herself.

"She wouldn't..." my voice trailed off. She must have taken her boat to the side island. "... for the raft?" I questioned myself. "Rio, you stupid-" I muttered pulling on my pants and my hair into a a quick braid. _Thank God, the room's on the first floor. _ I thought, opening the window. I swung my legs over the window sill one at a time and jumped into the dew covered grass.

"Rio-" I started saying walking to the main-island's dock. Sora's boat along with everyone else's was missing. "you stupid-"

(4)

"One, two, three-" I counted, running down the dock. "... and four." I sighed. "That at least means shes on the island."I said relieved, for then. "What the hell?" I questioned as the shadows swarming the dock started to dance in front of me. millions of pairs of bright yellow eyes twitched at me. If I wasn't so terrified, I could have thought these creatures as cute.

"Oh, God-" I continued. I yanked my wooden sword from my belt loop. The handle no longer splintered and hurt my hand, because Riku had lent me some medical tape to wrap it with. I had always wanted to say this. "Bring it."

(5)

"Bad Idea! Bad Idea!" I yelled waving my arm back and forth between one shadow to the next. My moment of being B.A. was through. Two shadows grabbed my left ankle and then my right. "What the Fuck?" I yelled slamming my sword down of the head of the nearest shadow. The wood sliced right through it, leaving no trace of even touching it. The shadows on my left pulled forward, making me fall from my feet onto my backside.

"Please..." I whimpered. "Please God..." The shadows swamped me, surrounding my legs and then my torso. These shadows where not weightless; heavy, in fact. "Please..." I whispered again, throwing my sword over my face. "I want to live!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, squeezing tight on the splintered wood.

(6)

The shadows where gone, I felt no weight on my shoulders. Though I knew this, I dare not open my eyes. I was scared. Scared, I would be completely taken in by the darkness. The world is full of darkness, I just wasn't ready to realize that.

Slowly, one by one, I opened my eyes to the sunset behind me. pinks and bluish purples fell on the wooden dock below me. The shadows twitched beside me, not quite ready to attack, more waiting for something.

"Son of a-" I started, standing up. The shadows formed an orderly circle around me, no bigger than 3 feet away on all sides. I swung my sword at them and they jumped back, like the wooden thing could hurt the. hurt the- Wooden thing?

I stared down at the thing in my hands. I was not holding a wooden sword, I was griping a hammer. This hammer was gigantic. The handle was silver with black metal stripes; about four. The end was pointed at an angle with a key-chain that matched the zipper of my shirt; a black star. The head of the hammer was what intrigued me the most. on the side was a black shape, engraved in the metal. A key hole. The weirdest part of all would have been what looked like a handle at the top. It looked like a padlock, I decided, and it was unlocked, because the handle looking piece of metal was not fully attacked on one side.

I didn't have much time to think through things. Someone screamed from the bottom of their lungs. It was a girl ans she was over at the tree house. a bright red light shot into the air and it was quiet again. other than the swishing sounds around me coming from the shadows.

The silence was replaced by loud rumbling and the breaking of earth. the new addition of wood to the island cracked loudly and fell into nothing. the tree house followed suit.

"What the-?" I yelled, taking out the two closest shadows. this hammer actually did damage; the shadows where gone in one hit. That scream diffidently came from Rio, and now she was gone with the tree house. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" I yelled taking out a whole row of shadows. "Now I'll never know who I am!" I screamed again running off the dock and across the beach. the whole island rumbled this time and I fell to my knees. No more surprised when the shadows sunk underneath me. the world cracked again. "Rio..." I breathed. "Please tell me... who I am..."


	9. Chapter 9

(1)

"Silence is the nemesis of sanity." I sang loudly to keep myself from going mad. Where ever I was , it was dark and most of all, silent. "But how could I have known that you would leave me?" I sang again. It was eerie how there was no echo- with there being nothing to bounce off of, but there was an answer.

"Soku?" came a familiar voice, so distorted. I couldn't tell how familiar it was. "Soku, wake up." came the voice again, clearer than before. It was a boys voice. "Soku..." Sora's voice.

"Wake up?" I questioned. Then I must be asleep.

"Soku, please wake up." Sora half whined. He sounded nervous about something. There was a tug at my shoulder and the darkness disappeared. I was expecting full on light, but above me was a face; a worried face. Sora's face. I stared up at him and he sighed in relief, smiling. I smiled back and he leaned back against the wall we sat by. My head lay in his lap and he breathed heavily.

"S-sora?" I asked, finding my voice. He looked down at me again. He responded with a questioning "hm?" and I couldn't help but smile at his puppy likeness.

"Do you mind moving your arm?" Sora looked at me for a moment then at his arm. His hand was resting on my stomach. He smiled, laughed, and raised his arm from my abdomen. "Thanks," I said, sitting up. I laughed nervously and buried my face in my hands. _Uuuuuuah- Embarrassing _I thought, then another thing. _Quick he talking pay attention._

"-so I really don't know where we are." He finished. _Crap. Too late. _I thought, leaning against the wall next to him.

(2)

It was quiet for a while, before the dog came. An orange-ish-yellow dog, with a green collar, trotting down our alley, sniffing out our scent from maybe even miles away. He barked happily when his nose finally landed on Sora's knee. He jumped in circles then barked and ran off. I looked at Sora for a while before he stood up. He shrugged and held out his hand for me. I didn't have to think twice this time. I allowed him to pull me off and we where off, in search for our own whereabouts.

(3)

"What'd you find?" Sora yelled to me, running down the main stairs of the town. "Well this town in Traverse Town, the First District, to be precise." I said leaning on my left foot. "There should be a map in district three, but we'll have to explore through District Two. The pass is under construction. I pointed over my shoulder to the big wooden door behind me. Sora nodded.

"Well, I walked around and into one of the stores. The owner's name is Cid and he said if we have any questions, to ask him or find some guy named Leon. Cid's shop sells accessories, while the store catty-corner sells items like: potions, weapons, and something called and ether.

Sora crossed his arms over his chest and clicked his tongue. He looked all over the court yard and the people lazying around. I know what he as looking for, or rather who. Kairi and Riku to be exact. I was happy he still had someone to look for. Rio was gone- Forever.

"Soku!" Sora yelled at me, only inches away from my ear.

"What?" I yelled back; surprised. Sora doubled back and game me a weird look. One I'd seen before.

"Are you OK?" he questioned slowly, in sylables, like I was deaf. I looked at him with a smile, why would he ask me that?

"You're... crying." he said hesitantly, as if he didn't know how I'd react.

"What are you talking about?" I said reaching up to my cheek. "I'm not-" I stopped as warm drops of water fell off my chin and onto my finger tips. Maybe... Somewhere in the back of my head... My brain knew that Rio meant more to me than I could remember.


	10. Chapter 10

(1)

Upon exiting the large house, occupied by two dalmatian dogs, Sora and I where swarmed by shadows. He threw up his arms to protect me, but I remembered them from the island. You can't hurt them with normal weapons.

"Sora!" I warned, thinking back to the island, "you can't kiss them; not even if you had a weapon!" He laughed sounding, almost, cocky.

"Don't worry, I've got this covered." he said confidently. There was a familiar light that encompassed his hand, then, in and instant, a weapon appeared in his hand. It was a sort of sword, in the shape of a giant key..

Sora tore through the shadows with his blade and my face fell in shock. Multiple thoughts popped into my head, but where all blown away as a small shadow crawled up behind Sora's back. All of my brain functions stopped and my body acted out of pure instinct. I held both hands up in the air and the same light as before became apparent, along with my hammer. Sora swung around, right as I brought my lock down on the creature's head. On Sora's face was a surprised smile as he separated a line of shadows from me.

"Back to back?" I asked him, mimicking his enthusiasm. Hes smile grew wider and he nodded, turning to face away from me. I looked the other way and the fighting ensued.

(2)

Sora and I sat in the middle of the alley, breathing, still, heavily from the short battle, not seconds ago. There was almost a pattern to how the shadows appeared and Sora found that they never seemed to reappear in the same area of town twice, unless it had been vacant for some time. I didn't say it so he had to have been reading my mind.

"It's kinda' cool," Sora started, after catching his breath. "you know, the shape of our weapons." He laughed himself and I joined him. I pulled up my hammer and looked at it. I didn't realize again, until then, the incomplete bar on the head of the hammer. I frowned and held it out, so Sora could see as well.

"Yeah, it's cool, but mine's kinda jacked up." I said, pushing in the bar. It slipped back up, as if a spring was jammed under it. Sora laughed, probably at my word usage. But then paused for a moment. He stared at the hammer's head for a long time before finally pulling his blade out of nowhere. He held the key's front end close to the lock, as if he was going to fit it into the keyhole. I knew this was impossible, because there was no actual hole; just an indentation, painted black, to look like a hole.

"push and hold the bar in." Sora instructed me. You could practically hear the gears turn inside his head. I gave him a look, but complied with his request; I pushed the bar into the lock. He paused a moment and placed his key in the small indentation of the key hole. The key, in any other situation, would have stopped there, but the lock began to glow around the key hole. As it did, the key slid all the way through the metal wall, and into the lock. The glowing disappeared after something inside clicked. The weight, pushing against my hands, disappeared as sell and the bar stayed in place when I took my hands off of it. I felt a tug at my chest and a small ringing sound cleared all my thoughts. Before I realized it, I had passed out. Sora's voice barely reached my ears, over the ringing. Even then, I heard him but I could not understand his words.

(3)

"Back here again..." I told myself, walking slowly through the small stone room from before. In front of me, slept the two brothers and the small girl; all three huddled together under a small blanket. The girl slept soundly between her two brothers. Everything was quiet for the time being, other than a rhythmic tapping off in the distance; The march of a deck of cards. The marching came closer and a shrill whistle cut through the air. It was quiet again as I pulled myself against the back wall. I jumped as the whistle called again. The small girl's eyes darted open and she pulled herself farther under the blanket. The whistle ended and a large blow was delivered to the outside wall. The girl's brothers awoke and another blast came through the stone. The brothers sat up and huddled over their sister, as the final bang brought down the wall. I watched as the gigantic playing card soldiers stormed through the large hole in the wall. And ripped the brothers apart. As they grabbed the girl and began to drag her away, I sunk down against the wall. The brothers yelled the child's name, but what I heard was not their voices, but Sora's.

"Soku!" The brothers yelled in Sora's voice. Over and over until the room was once again pitch black. The only thing remaining, being Sora's voice in the dark. Calling my name. The name that my brother's gave me. The name meaning candle; a beacon in the night. Now how much use was my name to me, in this pitch black space?


End file.
